


The Fire That Burns

by robert_downey_jr



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: A second of fluff, Angst, F/M, Fluff, Mild Smut, Pain for you, Possibly Unrequited Love, Unresolved Emotional Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2017-01-16
Packaged: 2018-09-17 21:04:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9344582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/robert_downey_jr/pseuds/robert_downey_jr
Summary: Vilkas meets the fiery Astrid and she turns his world upside down.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I got inspired to torture poor Vilkas...so enjoy!

Vilkas hadn’t ever felt this way before. He didn’t know exactly how to put it into words, which was different for him since that’s all he was ever good for. Words. He could enthrall all of Jorrvaskr by just one word falling off his tongue. He could have all the attention in the room in a mere second. Yet, that stopped being appealing. That stopped pumping adrenaline into his veins when Astrid walked through the front doors.

 

It didn’t take long for him to take an immediate dislike to her. Kodlak saw something in her that he hadn’t seen yet. She was an olive-tanned beauty whose green eyes shined like emeralds in the gleaming sun. She had a smart mouth and even bigger appetite than his own brother. The duel-wielding sword-maiden was a harsh fighter. She was ravenous and dangerous on the fighting ground and gave no mercy. Which was why the space in his chest where his heart had long since been empty.

 

He tried to despise her, it took him weeks to try and just think of something to hate about her. He tried to hate the way she laughed but it sounded like the bells of Sovngarde calling to him. He tried to hate the way she smiled but that smile was brighter than any he’d ever seen. He tried to hate the way she talked but he found himself falling into her words.

 

He just couldn’t find anything to hate about her and it became too infuriating, too messy for his head. But it was during a celebration that he noticed she was in the same boat as him. She’d approached and spoken to him with words that were gentle and touching. Vilkas held his hands back from touching the dark hair that fell down to her shoulders. They spoke for mere minutes but somehow they’d flown past the conversation.

 

In under ten minutes, he’d found himself undressing Astrid in his chambers. Her mouth unyielding and harsh against his. Vilkas had no control of when he stripped her armor off piece by piece. Metal was crashing onto the floor, along with his armor. Her lips tasted of sweet berries, the same taste that he couldn’t get out of his mouth. Her skin felt like silk against his as he pinned her to his bed and made love to her on top of his bear-skinned blankets.

 

And that voice, her voice when he’d hit a spot that had her moaning with desire had him begging to hear that noise again. They were a mess of bare skin, teeth and tongue on each other for the time that they spent in his bedroom. His hands dared touch places that no man or woman should ever be allowed to touch. Her mouth had found places on his own body that him smiling and laughing. And after they’d thrown each other off the edge of oblivion, Vilkas felt his heart leap directly into her open hands.

 

They’d laid with each other for a while, both unwilling to leave and just return back to the messy world they lived in. They had created their own small world beyond the doors of his bedroom, a world where no dangers threatened them, where no one else dared to taint or spoil. And in his little world, he found a sliver of happiness in it. Somewhere where he could sink into when the world threatened to crush him into nothing.

 

But soon enough the same person he created his world with, was the same person who shattered it.

 

Vilkas had thought of nothing else since their separation. Astrid was the one to break it off and break him into pieces. She refused to meet his eyes when she had ripped his chest open and cut his heart in half. She gave no reason to why she was ending it, only the excuse that she couldn’t date someone that was supposed to be a trainer, her confidante and partner. But those sounded like reasons to _stay_.

 

He didn’t argue because for once someone had rendered him speechless. He had nothing to say and nothing wanted to roll off his tongue in that painful moment. He let her go and he let her take his heart with her. She didn’t look back which made the pain worse. There were no tears being shed and still no one knew of their small affair.

 

But he knew and he ached.

 

Vilkas laid awake at night, wondering what could have possibly made a woman like Astrid shatter a man so effortlessly. He hadn’t even felt this way for someone and it was clear that she was beside him at the undiscovered territory. He expected her to charging in alongside him every step of the way but instead she stayed behind and watched.

 

He was a man of intelligence and for once in his life he felt like he knew nothing.

 

Vilkas didn’t speak to her, refusing to acknowledge her completely as the days rolled into weeks. It was good for him, he felt his chest slowly healing. There was still an empty spot where his heart had been but he’d hoped that someone might come along and offer a spare. He tried to make himself believe that the separation was good, that no one would approve of their courtship and it would make things worse.

 

But no matter what he made himself think he was always shot down when Astrid would come striding into the room, boasting about her newest kill and smiling brighter than she ever had before. Even during the celebration of her own kills, he’d kept his distance and offered no words to give. But during the party when the music was loud and the dancing had become mandatory Vilkas found her eyes across the room.

 

The fire spit roared between them. Astrid leaned against one of the walls, wine in hand and the happy smile wiped completely clean from her features. He saw a pain in her eyes through that fire, a pain that resonated deeply within him. He was feeling the same pain. Astrid was opening herself up to him in that small moment. The world slowed and he saw a flash of regret in her eyes before she brought her wine to her lips.

 

Before she finally looked away and was pulled away from her spot by Athis he saw another flicker in those forest eyes. It was love.

 

It made him ache once more, realizing that he'd never feel that love. 


End file.
